Maternity Services: Ethnic Groups

(asked on 15th July 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will create an annual maternity survey specifically for Black women.


Answered by
James Morris Portrait
James Morris
This question was answered on 22nd July 2022

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) undertakes a regular maternity survey of women giving give birth in all National Health Service acute trusts providing maternity services. In 2021, respondents could complete an online questionnaire, which increased the response rate, including from Asian and Asian British women and from those describing themselves as having ‘no religion’ or ‘Muslim’.

In preparing the 2023 survey, the CQC has engaged with other bodies to increase responses from black women and women from minority ethnic backgrounds. The CQC will also undertake engagement and communications activity to improve the survey’s profile and completion rate amongst ethnic minority groups with lower survey completion rates. The survey responses are analysed at a national level by ethnicity and other factors.

Reticulating Splines